Safe Place To Stay
by WaterlooRoad06
Summary: Is Waterloo Road the safest place for Florence and her younger siblings? Story better than summary!
1. Break In

Glass shattered over the floor as a large metal pole was smashed through one of the classroom windows at Waterloo Road. The alarm immediately started ringing. "Ssshhh, quickly, in here," a teenage girl whispered as she lifted two young children through the broken window. She carried a little boy on her side and took the hand of the young girl as she led the children into the school hall and through the door that lead to under the stage. She hurried the children into a far corner and settled down with them. "Stay very, very quiet. We've got to stay here for a little while," the eldest girl whispered. The sound of police sirens echoed around the school as officers made their way into the school. Not long afterwards, familiar voices could be heard in the hall.

"Did they take anything?" Michael Byrne asked.

"No, they didn't. Just kids vandalising they think," Lorraine Donnegan answered.

"Makes you wonder what kids are doing at 3 in the morning," Michael joked.

"Yeah. I'm heading home now. See you in the morning!"

"See you then."

The voices trailed off and the three kids were alone in the room under the stage.

"Florence?" the younger girl asked, "What are we doing here? Why did you wake us from our sleep?"

"Shhh, Harper. We're going to stay here for a day," Florence told her as she took some blankets out of her rucksack and laid them on the floor. "I had to take you away from mum and dad, it wasn't safe there."

"But why?" Harper asked.

"I'll tell you later, but right now, lay down with me and Ethan and try to get some sleep."

"Okay, Florence. Good night!"

"Goodnight, sweetheart."


	2. I'll Have To Leave You

Florence woke Harper and Ethan at 6am and took them to the PE changing rooms so they could get washed and dressed. Florence made them breakfast in the school kitchens and made them sandwiches for their lunch before returning to under the stage.

At 8:30, Florence knew that she had to go to class and leave Harper and Ethan on their own. "Harper, I've got to go to school now."

"Oh, are we going to the childminder's?"

"No… you're staying here. I have to leave you and Ethan here."

"Okay."

"Harper, listen to me, Ethan has more toys in this bag and your lunches and your drinks are here. I'll be back at lunchtime. If anyone comes in here, you need to grab Ethan and come back to the corner."

"Okay."

"And stay quiet!" Florence felt guilty for leaving the kids on their own. "I love you both, sweethearts, bye!"

Florence got through her first two lessons, pretending everything was normal, before Mrs Diamond called her out of her lesson. "Florence, can you come to my office?" Florence immediately followed Mrs Diamond to her office. Her heart was pounding. Could they have found Harper and Ethan?


	3. Lies, Lies, Lies

"Sit down, Florence," Mrs Diamond said, smiling at her. "I've had your Dad on the phone. You didn't go home last night, where were you?"

"I was at a friends," Florence replied.

"Okay. Now, I don't want to alarm you, but your brother and sister were missing this morning. They just disappeared in the night."

"No, they didn't. I went home this morning and picked them up. They've got a childminder's trip today and they needed to be there early," Florence lied.

"Oh, okay. I'll call your mum and let her know that you're safe and that's where Harper and Ethan are."

"No, it's okay Miss. I'll call her at break."

"Okay then, if you're sure. How old are your brother and sister?"

"Harper's 4 and Ethan's 2," she said, feeling guilty that she'd left them on their own at such a young age.

"That's sweet. Do you look after them a lot?"

"Quite a bit," Florence realised what she'd just said and added, "but not all the time!"

"Okay. What do you do in your spare time, Florence?"

"Umm, I go walking and do my homework."

"Really? Well how come you've got lots of missing home works?"

"I.. I.. I don't know" she said ashamed. Florence spent too long looking after Harper and Ethan and didn't have enough time to do home work. If she didn't look after Harper and Ethan, no one would.

"Florence, is everything okay at home?"

"Yes, everything's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Can I go yet? Mr Chalk's teaching us algebra and I really need to be in his lesson."

Realising that she wasn't going to get any further, Mrs Diamond let her go. "Okay, you can go, but I want to see you at lunchtime. You're doing your missing science homework!"

"Lunchtime? But, I can't"

"No excuses."


	4. Trying Again

Lunchtime arrived and Florence went to Mrs Diamond's room. She was the only one there and she couldn't focus on science. She needed to get back to Harper and Ethan. Mrs Diamond thought that she'd try again with Florence, and get to the bottom of what was causing her strange behaviour and defensiveness. "What jobs do your mum and dad have?"

"My mum works in a supermarket, my dad's a plumber."

"That's nice. What do you want to do when your older?"

"I want to run my own bakery."

"That's good then. Year 11, aren't you? Not long until you leave school. You'll be out in the world, away from us. On your own."

"I never thought of it like that. I want to stay here for sixth form though."

"Put the work in and you'll be gladly accepted!"

Meanwhile, Lorraine marched a group of year 10 pupils to Michael's office. "Smoking. Behind the stage curtains. I'm sure you can deal with this, Michael," she explained as they filled into the office.


	5. Get Out, There's A Fire!

After lunch, Tom Clarkson was walking though the corridors of Waterloo Road when he thought he could smell burning. Following the scent, he came to the school hall and ran to the nearest fire bell. "The school's on fire! Everybody out!"

Pupils from all over the school filled out of the doors and outside onto the pavement. Florence was one of the last out of the building and she thought it was just a drill. It was only when she was outside that the smell of smoke hit her and the firemen ran past her and into the school. It was real. It was all real and her beloved brother and sisters were still inside. "Is everybody out?" one of the firemen asked.

"Yes, I think so," replied Michael.

Florence turned around, only to be stopped by Sian and Lorraine. "Florence, turn around and get over there," Sian commanded.

"No, Miss, wait!"

"What is it now?"

"Harper and Ethan… they're under the stage!"

"What? I thought you said they were on a trip!"

"No, they're under the stage!"

"Not everyone's out! There's two kids under the stage in the hall!" Sian called.

"I need to get to them, I need to save them!" Florence called.

"You're not going anywhere, young lady," Lorraine said as she took Florence away from the scene. "Let the firemen do their job and tell me why you're here. From the beginning"

Florence tried to tell Lorraine and Sian why she had done what she'd done. "I had to get them away. It was safe here, they weren't safe there. They weren't safe." Florence kept repeating the words "they weren't safe" as she watched the firemen intently. Two ambulances turned up to the school, ready for Harper and Ethan to come out, but no one came.


	6. Through The Smoke

Florence was in a panic, where were they? Surely they could be saved? Each time a fire officer came out of the burning building, she hoped that they have a child in their arms. Minutes, that felt like hours, passed and there was no sign of any life. Lorraine and Sian exchanged a knowing glance that said "they've got to be dead!" Then, suddenly, through the smoke came two officers, each cradling a small child in their arms. "Harper! Ethan!" Florence called as she tried to run to them.

"No, Florence!" Lorraine and Sian held her back. "Come on, I'll take you to the hospital," Lorraine said as the two ambulances came rushing past them, sirens blasting. Lorraine, Sian and Florence quickly jumped into Lorraine's car and followed the ambulances.


	7. Hospitals

Florence and Sian rushed into A&E while Lorraine parked her car. "Hello, can I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"I'm asking after Harper and Ethan Jones. They came by ambulance from a fire at Waterloo Road?"

"Are you immediate family?"

"I'm their sister."

"Okay. I can't tell you anything now, but they're being treated. Please wait here and I'll try to get some more information for you."

Sian and Florence took a seat in the waiting area when Lorraine joined them. "How are they?" she asked.

"They can't say," Sian answered.

"Oh. Michael just rang, the school fire has been put out without much damage. It was most likely started by the pupils who were smoking behind the curtains at lunch. The firemen said that Harper and Ethan were alive when they were put in the ambulance, and they hope they get better soon."

"Speaking of Harper and Ethan, we need to call your parents," Sian said.

"No! Please don't! That's the reason they're hurt. I took them away to stop dad from hurting them, but they got hurt by me instead."

"It wasn't your fault," Sian said as she wrapped her arms around Florence. "Why were they going to get hurt?"

"Dad. He hits them, does stuff to us all. I needed to get them out, Miss. I'm not letting them go through what I went through. The only way out was to run away. Run away to a safe place. I thought Waterloo Road was a safe place to stay."

"It's okay, Florence, it's okay. You're not going back to that family. We'll find somewhere truly safe for you to stay," Sian explained.

"Yeah, and for tonight, you can stay with me," Lorraine offered.

"Thanks, Miss," she said as Lorraine gave her a hug.

"Are you Florence Jones?" asked a nurse in a pale purple uniform.

"Yes?" Florence answered.

"I'm Ruby and I've got some news on Harper and Ethan. Can you come with me? Your Mum can come too," Ruby said, indicating to Lorraine.

"She's not my mum," Florence said defensively, "but she's coming!"


	8. Are They Okay?

Florence and Lorraine followed the nurse into a small room.

"I've got some questions first. How old is Harper?"

"She's 4."

"And did you know that she had a fractured wrist?"

"No, is she okay?"

"She's doing well. She's got a few burns and smoke inhalation. She's on oxygen and has been moved to the children's ward. I can take you to see her in a bit."

"Okay. What about Ethan?" The nurse came to Florence's side and crouched down beside her. "How old is Ethan?"

"He's 2."

"Okay then," Ruby took Florence's hands, "Florence, Ethan has been in a nasty fire. He's suffering from smoke inhalation like Harper, but he's got a lot more burns than her. He's in a lot of pain. They're trying to patch him up in surgery with pieces of skin that haven't been burnt."

Florence took a moment to take in the news. "Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know."

"Can I see Harper now?"

"Okay, I'll take you to her."


	9. Not Going Back

Florence, Lorraine and Sian went up to the children's ward. Lorraine and Sian went into the relative's room to leave Florence with Harper. "Hey, baby girl," Florence said as Harper opened her eyes.

Harper reached for her oxygen mask. "I'm sorry, we were quiet and we tried to hide, but they found us."

"Don't talk, Harper. It's okay. It's my fault. But you're going to be okay."

While Florence was with Harper, Lorraine was talking with Sian. "I can't believe what she's just told us. I kept asking if she was okay!"

"So did I. She kept covering up and was eventually desperate. Why didn't we see this?"

"I don't know."

"Social services are going to ask questions, you know. Why didn't we realise sooner? But it's not about them, it's about her and her safety now."

"You told her that she's not going back to that family. She could stay with me?"

"Until they find a foster family?"

"No, until she's old enough and wants to leave home."

"Lorraine, you hardly know her."

"I know but, she deserves someone who can look after her, somewhere permanent and safe. Harper and Ethan can come and live there too, when they're better."

"If, they're better. But it's a good idea. Can you get it arranged?"

"Probably, I start working on it now."


	10. A Safe Place To Stay?

Almost immediately, Lorraine was approved as a carer for the three children. Florence moved in with Lorraine and visited Harper and Ethan every day. It took three weeks to get the house ready for Ethan and Harper to come home. Lorraine redecorated their rooms and a playroom for them. She also bought them new clothes and toys for when they came home. Harper was recovering well, and Ethan was recovering very slowly. Harper and Ethan got to know Lorraine when Florence visited.

4 weeks after admission, Harper could come home. She was mentally scared from the accident but Lorraine and Florence knew how to help her. Harper settled in quickly and 2 weeks later, Ethan could come home. Ethan was physically scared and would need operations for much of his life. But with Lorraine looking after them, and all three of them being safe, they could finally work on forgetting the past and forming a better future. They had finally found a safe place to stay.


End file.
